Five things make a blog post

1. I desperately needed new jeans (and have little interest in making them just yet) so while I was home in the UK I went out to buy some. In the same spirit of enquiry as my Great Dress Trying-On Experiment, I tried on all sorts of cuts in addition to the bootcut style that I most love. I ended up buying not only a pair of bootcut, but also, since they were only £5, a pair of skinny jeans that were on super special sale. I have always loathed skinny jeans when I tried them on before, and I am not 100% convinced I love these except tucked in boots. However, in order to get a pair that fit over my thighs I had pick a size that are too loose at the waist and hip. If I decide I like this look, I will definitely need to either find a different brand that are shaped more like me or else sew them, because ugh, I really hate wearing clothes that fit so badly. Also, I took this photo and basically decided I looked completely and utterly terrible and should never leave the house. Body image issues >:(

The only concession to sewing content is this photo are my boxes of fabric. Oh, and my blue top is one I made before my break, I guess. I just wanted to play with my new camera remote.

2. On my return to Dublin I fished out a pair of too-short black bootcut corduroys from my pile of recycling. My old black cords had suddenly tipped over the line from Acceptably Slouchy to These Are Just Too Big and gave me elephant ears at the hip as well as saggy bottom syndrome. On the other hand there is nothing more stupid looking than bootcut trousers that finish somewhere around mid-ankle, even in flats. Up to this point I had decided elephant ears were the lesser evil. However, ankle length skinny cut don't look too bad, especially if you're wearing them in boots, so I skinnified the legs using my new jeans as a template. Again, not 100% on board with it, and it doesn't help that I kind of half-assed the job as well so they don't really look brilliant.

3. I also fixed my turquoise top that I scorched by taking about 4cm off the hem. It's now a little bit shorter than I like, really, but I guess it's better than having a massive burn mark on it. I am so frustrated though by my coverstitcher. The thread keeps breaking while I'm sewing. I don't know whether it's something I'm doing wrong (tension settings maybe?) or whether it's just the thread I am using is crap. The thread also broke when I used it in my overlocker on this top, so I'm half convinced it's the thread/fabric combination.

4. I have traced the patterns I want to make up next: one tee and one woven tee, both from Ottobre 02-2014; and one skirt from an old issue of Burda (02-2007) for my half-assed Year of Burda challenge. The tee and the skirt should be fairly straightforward, but the woven tee will involve some fairly significant fitting work & probably multiple muslins because of the need for an FBA of doom and other alterations, so I am not expecting to finish it quickly.

5. I am the actual worst at keeping my fabric purchases to a minimum. I just bought 2m of fabric (for a total of 5m this month) because I just HAD to have this fabric I found on Tissu, in spite of the fact that (a) I had no money left in the theoretical sewing fund pot for the month; and (b) I really need to not buy any more fabric. Hopefully I can at least break even for the month with the projects I have planned, I guess.